Urban Environment

Pallikaranai marshland has become the first wetland in Chennai to get the Ramsar tag in July 2022. The award of the Ramsar tag is part of UNESCO's Ramsar Convention, which is an intergovernmental treaty aimed to conserve wetlands. India has been a party to the treaty since 1982. While this is welcome news, Pallikaranai has also seen a lot of damage over the years, despite being a "protected zone" as per the Tamil Nadu Forest Act. From 2,650 hectares, the wetland has shrunk to around 700 hectares, thanks to encroachments by government and private entities, garbage dumping, leakage of untreated…

On July 1st 2022, Mumbai introduced a brand new plastic ban along with the rest of the country. 21 selected single-use plastic (SUP) items were outlawed for their low utility and high littering potential. These include disposable cutlery, plastic sticks for candies, ice cream and balloons, plastic flags, thermocol for decoration and carry bags under 75 microns thick. Come January 2023, the minimum thickness required for plastic bags will increase to 120 microns.  But Mumbai has been under a far more extensive plastic ban since June 2018. Most of the products on the newly banned list have not been allowed for manufacture, transport, storage…

Chennai’s recent history is marked by a string of disastrous weather events, particularly floods. The city’s water woes are not new, but the erratic nature and increased frequency of floods and droughts have raised questions regarding its in a climatically unstable world and what resilience might look like in the future. A large number of initiatives under ‘Climate Adaptation’ and ‘Urban Resilience’ have been mooted, and designed by bureaucrats, technical experts and consultants. These responses range from watershed management to urban development schemes to ecological restoration of waterbodies. But the story of top-down climate adaptation measures has less to do…

Citizens, activists and lake groups are taking up the cause of protecting and improving Bengaluru’s lakes. Engaged citizens and government agencies need to work together to restore to Bengaluru its old reputation of being the “city of lakes’. But there is widespread confusion on whom to approach regarding specific issues. The chart below shows the various government bodies involved with lakes and the current governance structure. Government bodies involved in managing the lakes of Bengaluru. Pic credit: Sarayu Neelakantan and Sanjana Alex. A list of government bodies responsible for the physical, chemical and ecological status of respective lakes are given…

When 36-year-old Rupesh Patil started fishing 20 years ago, taking over the reins of the business from his father, he used to catch a boat full of fresh Surmai (seer fish) or Javla (shrimp) regularly. "But the income in this business is not like before," he says. Patil is a fisher from Worli Koliwada in Mumbai, where other fisherfolk like him who fish at the nearby Cleaveland Bunder have been complaining of a falling catch for the past few years.  Adding to their woes are the rising fuel prices and the destruction that was left behind by Cyclone Tauktae in…

Reports of massive fish kill events in lakes across Bengaluru come up worryingly often every year after the first monsoon showers. This year was no different. Ulsoor, Basavanapura, Muthanallur and Bhattarahalli are some of the lakes in which dead fish were found floating over the last few weeks. What is causing this morbid scene year after year in a city famed for its many water bodies? Pollution is one culprit. What are the other factors involved? How exactly do these interact and impact lake ecosystems? And what needs to be focused on to prevent such events? To understand the whole…

The onset of Mumbai's monsoon is loaded with a lot of speculation. Its arrival is forecasted as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) tracks the seasons’ advance from the south. The forecast also indicates the quantity of rainfall expected across the months of June-September, leaving aside the rainfall pattern, which is harder to predict in advance. Mumbai receives an average 2,500 mm of rainfall in the monsoon months. The city depends on this rain to fill the lakes that supply water for the year. And while this year, Maharashtra expects to surpass its average by 6%, the focus will ultimately be…

Taufiq, an electrician in Shivaji Nagar, sits in his shop surrounded by wall-mounted fans. Despite other shops like his in the area, he gets at least 2-3 fans for repairs daily. As Mumbai is headed into summer with temperatures touching 40 degrees Celsius in March, it’s no secret why Taufiq gets business everyday. The general ceiling fans, he says, are not cutting it anymore. “Most people here don’t have ACs or coolers, so they look for a fan that is fast,” explains Taufiq, showing me a fan unlike any other in the market. “We assemble this here. The motor comes…

Rekha, a fruit vendor in Kandivali east, has been selling fruits in the area for over 6 years now. Parked under a large umbrella that offers shade from the sun, she awaits customers. "The heat this year has been the worst in a long time, and it is only April. It will get worse," she exclaims, adding that the recent heatwave in the city has also affected her business since customers don't come out much and her fruits get spoiled in the scorching heat during the day. Rekha is also one of the many street vendors in Mumbai who conduct…

Solid waste management remains the second highest priority for BBMP. Though allocation on this in the 2022-23 budget has dropped to Rs 1469 crore from last year’s allocation of Rs 1622 crore. Changing Priorities - more landfills Much of this money, however, is going towards managing landfills as shown in the chart below. Given the recent developments around the proposed changes to the collection and transportation system of one vehicle collecting all waste streams, the budget reflects the priorities and directions of BBMP moving towards more landfills and dumping by earmarking Rs 300+ crore for this. BBMP SWM budget allocation…